Three plus One Equals Four.

When you think about it, nothing is stable or constant in this world. Even the places you and I were familiar with do not look the same over the years. When I walk on the roads I walked with my Dad, the streets are still there. However, He is gone from me to the presence of the Lord.

In an ever-changing world, you and I crave something do not change and stays the same. The Bible reminds us of two that do not change- God and His Word in the Bible. Peter wrote, “the grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.” 1 Peter 1:25. Psalm 90:1 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

And Hebrews 13;8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  When we recognize all around us changes, God is everlasting, and Jesus never changes.

None of us wants unhappy days in 2023, do we? What does the Scripture say about a happy and blessed life? Is there a secret to happiness and blessedness? Any prescription God gave to us?

Psalm 1:1-3 gives us three negative and one positive steps as ingredients of true happiness. The verses give three negative steps and one positive step that yields the four most blessed rewards. It says:

Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do. NLT

Three Negative Steps:

Healthy people try to avoid certain things to remain healthy. They avoid addictive habits of drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes which can harm their healthy nature.

Similarly, happy and blessed people avoid certain things to remain satisfied. Three things God prescribes are:

-the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Wicked means ungodly. The ungodly are those who do not honor and fear God. They do not belong to God.

-the one who does not stand in the way of sinners.

-the one who does not sit in the seat of mockers.

Intended Progression:

You will likely notice an intended progression in these verses. It is truly intended to ponder.

Ungodly nature– a sinner, a mocker.  A walker, stander, and sitter.

A walk in the counsel of the ungodly results in sinning. Sinning results in mocking those who belong to God.

The progression is noted in the verbs as well.

Walk-stand, and sit.

A person begins to walk in the counsel of the ungodly. This results in standing in the way of sinners-standing and gazing the way of sinners.  Consequently, he gets comforted in sitting and mocking.

A man starts walking, then stands, and finally sits down.

Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Do not stand in the way of sinners. Do not sit in the seat of mockers.

One Positive Step:

The passage also gives one positive step to take for happiness and blessings. What is that?

It says, “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law, he meditates day and night.”

What you and I delight in tells volumes about you and me. You can delight in making money, gathering wealth, possessions, and human love. What motivates you? God says a happy person delights in the Bible. As a result, he meditates day and night. How often- day and night? This means he reads and meditates on the Bible continuously. Meditating means chewing the cud like cows and bulls.  You read, reflect, repeat, and memorize the Bible verses and God’s beautiful promises.

Four Rewards:

Now, the three negative steps and one positive step described above result in four divine and wonderful rewards. Let us look into the four rewards God promises.

1. Stability and strength.

“He is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water. Firmly planted indicates stability and strength. Trees on streams of water have a wide root system, which gives them strength and stability even amid the harsh forces of nature. The nutrient-rich roots hold the tree in its place to stay stable and strong during severely dry summer and winter weather. Such trees won’t fall and remain standing during the difficult dry and winter seasons.

You and I develop rich roots by reading and meditating the Bible day and night. As a result, God gives the reward for standing firm, stable and strong even in adversities.

2. Fruitfulness.

It says, “which yields its fruit in season.” The nutrient roots produce fruit in season. It has fruit in season. You meditate on the scripture day and night. You will be fruitful. Sometimes we need to forgive- the robust root system supplied by the Bible verses readily gives the fruit of forgiveness. Need to love- it produces the fruit of love. Needing patience, courage, and perseverance, the rich root has the fruit of patience, courage, and endurance.

 3. Evergreen Leaf.

Always green leaf- it says leaves do not wither. Due to rich nutrients and ongoing nourishment of the Word of God, the tree has fresh green leaves. Every day brings new food from the Word and stays in green leaves. A man who delights and meditates God’s Word gets new daily vitamins and proteins.

 4. Prosper in all things.

The fourth reward is that he prospers in all that they do. What is real prosperity? If richness or wealth is the real prosperity, we misunderstood the Word prosperity. People who are rich, wealthy, and celebrities end up suicide. That does not look like real prosperity.

What is true prosperity?

Romans 8: 36-37 says, “Just as it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

You see, we may face trials as other people do. We may face failures, get rejected, get sick, hear bad news about our dear ones, and face tragedies. However, amid it all, a child of God becomes more than a conqueror because God makes them thrive. You become a conqueror.

The same idea is presented in 2 Corinthians 2:14 when Pauls wrote, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place.

The context is given in 1st Corinthians 1:8-10, For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He on whom we have set our hope.”

Also, refer to 7:5-6, “even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts on the outside, fears inside. But God, who comforts the discouraged, comforted us by the arrival of Titus;”

The context is an affliction, excessive burden, despaired of life, a sentence of death, great a danger of death, no rest, afflicted on every side: conflicts on the outside, fears inside, discouraged.

But remember, he wrote in the middle of it all, “thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:14). How often? “Always .”Who leads us in triumph? God. Through whom God leads us in triumph? In Christ Jesus.

This is what true prosperity means. Always, God leads us in triumph because you are a child of God in Christ Jesus. God loves you and delivers you from all peril that comes your way because you belong to Christ. Now that is true prosperity.

Prosperity is not mere richness, wealth, or possessions. It is a broader and deeper concept. God makes you prosper in all things because you avoid three negative steps and keep one positive step described above.

As we enter a brand new 2023, God’s secret of happiness/blessedness is 3+1=4. Three negative steps to avoid and one positive action to take. Three negatives and one positive result in four rich rewards.

Are you ready to enter a brand new year? Keep God’s prescription for blessedness and happiness close to your heart.